Personal Information Management..by Jolito Ortizo Padilla and included in the book "Managing People"

"Data protection is about much more than simply locking up personal information. It is about ensuring that the right information is being captured, for the right purpose, for the right amount of time and that it is being shared and used in an appropriate way"

It is 11 years since the publication of the Data Protection Act 1998 and eight years since it was implemented in 2001. Since that time , much has been written about how organizations should manage the personal information they hold and use for business purposes.

The management of personal information should be seen by all organizations as just one part of the overall information governance framework , a subject that is high on the agenda of most board meetings.

In recent years, the need for effective information governance has posed an ever increasing challenge for all organizations, whether in the public, private or third sector. It has been widely recognized that information , especially personal information is an asset. However, it can become a liability and to- paraphrase Richard Thomas , the former UK Information Commissioner-a toxic liability, if incorrectly managed.

Advances in technology are making it much easier for organizations to collect greater amounts of personal data and provide better services to their customers. However, these same advances also raise concerns about the effect this has on individuals privacy , especially with regards to proportionality and retention , and there are ever increasing challenges for organizations that can only be met by effective information governance.

Back in 1998 , BSI brought together a group of experts from across government and the business and public sectors that identified a need for practical guidance on the management of personal information. This led to the publication and continued development of BIP 0012: Guide to the Practical Implementation of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Then in 2007, the group identified a business need for more formal document that specified a management system that could easily be adopted by organizations. As a result , BS 10012, Information Management- Specification for a Personal Information Management System , was born.

One system to fit all
So, what role do standards play in helping organizations to achieve good information governance? Perhaps the best known example is the ISO/IEC 27000 series of information security management systems standards. The management system presented in these standards is essentially a systematic approach to managing people and processes than implementing technology. It also provides guidelines and common practice so that organizations do not have to continually reinvent the wheel.

Around the same time as the ISO/IEC 27000 was being developed , ISO also began work on the development of the first international records management standard , ISO 154989. In this instance, the catalyst as a pioneering Australian standard records management that was itself first developed in response to the need for" quality records," a need identified in ISO 9001, the international quality management systems standard.

One critical elements of records management involves managing and so reducing the risks associated with document retention and preservation. These issues are of particular relevance for private sector industries such as financial services, utilities and pharmacuetical where retention requirements are especially significant.

The management of personal information is a challenge to many organizations, as there is a need for both openness and security. Organizations need to be open when asked by individual about the processing of their personal information.

On the other hand , good security measures are needed in order to prevent the disclosure of the information to the wrong people. Such a requirement is of particular importance to organizations that provide public services because, as past experience has shown , they are in danger of prominent and sustained media coverage if any poor processes lead to security breaches and data loss.

Data protection is about much more than locking up personal information. It is about ensuring that the right information is being captured , for the right purpose, for the right amount of time and that is being used and shared in appropriate way -whether that be sharing it with other organizations or with the individual who are the subjects of the data.

Instead of defaulting to a mindset that data protection is all about locking personal data away and imposing burdensome restrictions on an organization, good management practice involves dealing with an asset value that needs to be handled with care.

Effective management can benefit an organization not just by reducing the risk of noncompliance with their obligations under the Data Protection Act, but also finding opportunities to deliver value to its customers as a consequence of ensuring responsible management of personal information.

Your Career Questions Answered by Jolito Ortizo Padilla - from Savola Group-KSA and Viva Telecom of Bahrain

From Savola Group of Company-KSA
Situation: I want to make my company's marketing strategy more environmentally friendly. Where do I start?

Thanks for reading my book- Strategic Management -Building Competitive Advantage through IPad e-book..

First, identify the real environmental issues throughout your product life cycle-not just Good news stories. Research the issue that concern customers and the connections they make between your products and climate change or waste. Get engineers , production, purchasing, sales and distribution to ask:
- Do we know how good our suppliers' environmental performance is?
- Have we taken every opportunity to improve energy and resource efficiency and
avoid waste?
- Are other less resource-intensive ways to meet customer needs?
- Can we reclaim and reuse or recycle products?

Green marketing becomes tokenistic when separated from the rest of the business. Integrate your green efforts with overall quality management , strategic planning and budgeting processes and set firm targets. Aim to be ambitious but realistic and consistent. Everybody hates a "greenwasher" so base any claims on substantive improvements. Then start dialogues with suppliers, customers, your workforce and intermediaries about how to work with them to improve further.

Get help. The Carbon Trust can help with reducing energy use, the Chartered Institute of Marketing has a range of resources and many trade associations are tackling environmental issues that affect whole industries. Finally be brave. The companies that try wholeheartedly derive the most benefit.

From Viva Telecommunications Bahrain
Setting: My workload has increased recently and I can't cope with it. How can I approach my manager to explain the situation?

Thanks for reading my book- Emotional Intelligence-Putting Things in Proper Perspectives.

Before speaking to your manager about your workload , first examine four important threads that could be influencing your feelings:
* Has your workload changed significantly and are you struggling with either the
volume or the content of your work?
* Has anything significant changed in your life that is impacting on your work
and /or your feelings?
* How would you describe your relationship with your manager?
* Most importantly , how is this feeling of not coping impacting on your health
and work/life balance?
Examining these four areas may help you decide which approach to use to move forwards and change your situation. If may be that when you think about these areas more closely , you will have a better idea of the right way to approach your manager.

However, you sound quite overwhelmed and you may also benefit from finding yourself a mentor to assist you in clarifying your personal reflections and how to move forward. It is very important to address issues straightaway rather than ignore them. You can then make changes that prevent you from burning out.

Try making some notes and deciding what and how you can change things for yourself. Making changes and taking control of your situation will not only be empowering for you, but will also help you in your role and your relationship with your manager.

Your Career Questions Answered by Jolito Ortizo Padilla -From my Former Students Working in SABIC -KSA and Petronas- Malaysia

I received two letters from my former students in Singapore and KSA that needs to be addressed. One is working in Petronas-Malaysia and the other is connected with SABIC-KSA.

On Flexibility of Work from SABIC-KSA

In a business context , flexibility can refer to a number of different ideas. Today its most common usage is in the workplace where it refers to such thing as flexi-time. But the word has a longer pedigree in the area of strategy, where it generally generally refers to a firm's ability to respond to changes in its environment rapidly and at low cost. In the (limited) sense that strategy is an unchanging commitment to something , it is the antithesis of flexibility.

A firm's strategic flexibility depends upon partly on its liquidity , since its ability to respond speedily is inevitably determined by access to funds. More importantly, it depends on its organizational structure , on the way in which its units work with each other, and the freedom they have to take decisions.

The trade-off between flexibility and firmness has been a long running subject of management discussion,and was never included in that second edition(1996) of the book the college was using.Julian Birkinshaw, wrote in Sloan Management Review, "For company to succeed over the long term it needs to master both adaptibility and alignment -an attribute that is sometimes referred to as ambidexterity."

For adaptibility , read flexibility; and for alignment, read firmness. The balance between the two ,ambidexterity, is a term which Birkinshaw claims was used this sense in 1976.

I put the dilemmas slightly differently in my book, Strategic Management as" One of the most fundamental and enduring tensions in all but very small companies is between sub-unit autonomy and empowerment on the one hand , and overall organizational integration and cohesion on the other."

Autonomy and cohesion ;adaptibility and alignment ;flexibility and firmness. The words are different though the dilemma remains the same.

For most of the past century, firmness has had the upper hand in the corporate strategy. Companies have set themselves on a particular course and it has taken a huge effort to divert them. As I remind you in the class and will remind you again "A big company is a bit like an oil tanker. There is no way it can turn on a sixpence."

From my Former Student in Singapore: I'm thinking of becoming a self employed consultant, but where do I start?

If you can enter the brave new world of self employment with a couple of firm contracts, perhaps taken from your existing employer, you will have a much easier start. At the very least you need a host of good leads that you plan to target.

When setting up, consider what you will be offering and to whom you will be offering it. This is a competitive market and you need to have an offering that has wide appeal and is different from the rest of the competition. It also helps to have a particular market sector in which you are well positioned, based on experience and an ability to serve the market well.

Pricing when you start is vital. Try to research the going rate for consultants in your field and remember that when you bid you will be up against established consultants. Your fees will need to be competitive , and don't forget that income will have to cover you for the non-fee-earning days that are inevitable.

The other aspect of starting up is that you are now entering the world where cash flow is king. Many customers will want to pay out only on successful completion of the project , which could be up to six months long, but they may pay stage payments depending on you producing deliverables. At best, customers pay 30 days from the invoice , some take 60 days and other try everything they can not pay at all.

In the meantime , all your outgoings continue to exist and you need to allow for this. This is tough time to be starting a new business and it is particularly difficult to obtain credit to cover start up costs. You will need a strong business plan to put before the bank manager for any funding to cover this lack of income.

Self employment is hard work-don't forget you will have to either do or contract in all the services you were used to your employer providing, such as accounting (including chasing late payments ), sales and marketing, project planning and development.

You will have to do all this as well as work that you have already been doing and get used to working with people that you don't know well. Your interpersonal skills will have to be top notch, as will your time and project management skills. You need to be perfectly clear with customers what you will do for them and what they have to do themselves in order to avoid disputes.

Having given you an idea of the pitfalls that may arise , self employment can be extremely rewarding. You can expect to work hard but it should be interesting and enjoyable working on your terms and being able to create your own work-balance life.

Change and Innovation: From Small Changes into Big Profits: originally written by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

It is hard to change one's personal behaviour, let alone that of a total organization. Many companies see the need for change long before they actually start to make the required changes. Instead of ignoring a situation, companies need to recognize the need for change sooner rather than later. Waiting will only cause more pain and the need for full-blown change. The greater the overall change, the less likely it will be for a company to reach its desired results. A company's ability to make small changes fast will have a direct impact on its ablity to stay competitive and profitable.

What Is Your Change Mindset?
Companies that only make massive changes that affect their culture and how they do business, in reality, are taking more risk than those that are willing to make small changes earlier rather than later. Companies that no longer have a product or business model that meets the needs of the changing market place generally go out of business These companies wait too long to make the needed changes and pay the price.

Even large companies , able to survive massive and sudden change, suffer serious disruption in the manner in which they conduct business, and their people pay a high emotional price. But who said that change has to be large and disruptive to produce profitable results? The instant accessibility of information, that in the past could take months or years to recieve, such as inventory levels, changing market needs , and financial information, means that companies can now quickly identify changes that are needed. The result is smaller changes that are less disruptive to the organization and its employees. For small changes to be accepted and be meaningful and profitable ,leaders must encourage and promote learning and communication. Leaders must take responsibiltiy for creating a positive attitude toward change. Each department or team must focus on and celebrate little victories and create a "small change is beautiful" mindset throughout the organization. A company that creates the kind of culture that promotes small, grassroot changes provides the opportunity for producing greater profits and a more efficient organization.

Are Your Processes Holding You Back?
Organization spend a great deal of time and money making sure they hire the best and brightest talent available. Yet many companies have processes and structures that do not foster the full use of their people's talents. A company needs a small change culture that allows employees to communicate ideas that could produce greater profitability and efficiency. Processes and systems are all part of a company's culture ; making small changes in these can lead to large profits.

Ask: do your processes allow your people to think outside the box: take risks, allow them to explore possible small changes that could improve the company's performance? Do your current processes allow your employees to express better or more profitable ways of doing things? If your unwritten slogan is, "we have always done it this way", you had better make some changes to your processes or organizational structure. Your processes need to encourage small changes that will help meet the changing business environment in your marketplace. An effective technique for creating more change friendly processes is to reward your employees for coming up with ideas that will produce big profits.This enhance your company's willingness and ability to implement small changes.

When an organization's processes and structures become so rigid and inflexible that they block change of any kind from taking place, your organization may be headed down a dangerous path. An organizations's customer tastes can change and your market can change at a moment's notice. If the only thing that cannot change is your organization or the way you do business , this could end up being your company's undoing.

Groups For Small Change
Small change groups can provide many profitable benefits. They focus on better serving customers and coming up with innovative changes to improve products, marketing, production and inventory control.

Change groups should be made up of executives , managers and very important employees from all levels of the organization. The only prerequisite for being a member is that they should have an open mind and willing to listen. For maximum effectiveness , group members need to rotate periodically among other change groups in different departments. This will help employees better understand the different challenges and small changes that need to take place in other areas of the company. Change groups will give employees an outlet to brainstorm and express ideas for improving how the company functions in an accepting environment.

Such groups encourage openness and frank sharing of ideas and problems that will help shape the future of the company. Creating small change groups will motivate employees and speed up change. These groups can share information and create better and more effective ways of getting things done. The group will want to check if the change is workable , but even if the change idea does not work , the group process can still be a great team building and learning experience.

Leading Your Small Change
A leader's role is different when establishing a culture that promotes small change , as opposed to large, company- wide change. Small change , to succeed, must have a vision that ties into the values of the organization.

If those at the top of the organization do not live by the values and vision of the organization, the rest of the company will not live by them either. Leaders need to promote and make their organization needs to know the direction it is headed , and understand what small changes need to take place, for it to reach its goals.

Corporate leaders must establish a culture where making making small changes is everyone's responsibility. An organization needs to create an environment where the acceptance of small change ideas is a solid part of its culture. Ask: do you know how willing your people are to accept the concept of making small change? Do your people get involved and become an active participant in change? People need to be coached to learn how to make the needed small changes. Leaders and managers need to create a sense of urgency by adopting a culture that encourages small changes to take place. They must be aware of , and remove , any obstacles that impede the adoption of a small culture.

Study Tips: From Procedures to Objects using The Contemporary Application Development Methods: originally written by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

The article is a second of a series to my research , Hypermedia Learning.

Most modern application development methodologies , programming paradigms, architectures and languages are based on, or evolved from , object -oriented technology. Thus, new design methodologies and programming languages have been developed to support object-orientation; of particular importance has been the development of the Unified Modelling Language (UML) , which encompasses the various aspects of object-oriented analysis and design. Moreover, many programming languages such as Java and C# have been designed to be "pure" object -oriented languages , reflected in the fact that a simple "Hello World" program can only be run from a class.

Since the various aspects of object -oriented technology are now well established in the mainstream of information technology and computing, the principles and practice of object-orientation have become very important to students on many courses.However, despite object-orientation being the focus of contemporary application development methods( CADM), students should be aware of other approaches , particularly those preceded object-orientation such as procedural programming, and those that go beyond object-orientation , such as component software. In fact, student should be able to intelligently compare and contrast the different concepts and approaches to software developments.

Learning Process
In general students should use the "learn the concepts" and "apply the concepts" approach. In learning the concepts students should focus on learning the theory , the key terms and definitions, so they can offer clear explanations of object oriented concepts using the learned theory together with examples to illustrate the depth of their understanding. In applying the concepts, students should focus on the use of the theory and analysis, design and implementation stages i.e. through the typical software development life cycle. Thus, students can understand clearly the meaning of the concepts in real-life applications. For example, many students can identify associations between different objects in a particular specification/application , and are able to illustrate association in UML-normally a straight line between two object classes -but they fail to demonstrate its meaning in practical terms i.e. how it is reflected in implementation and coding. The same can be said of other fundamental object-oriented concepts, such as inheritance and polymorphism.No complex coding is necessary in this module, instead there is a requirement for some basic understanding of the concepts and how they can be used in a programming language.

Moreover, students should be aware of the direct mapping and conversion of classes represented in UML. For example using class diagrams, into classes in particular programming languages. In fact, once object-oriented analysis and design stages are completed, through the identifications and drawing of objects, classes , attributes, methods and relationships, the converting process into an object-oriented language is relatively straightforward;some UML software also offers the capability to make a direct conversion from the design into a particular language. Additionally, students should be able to reverse engineer a particular application, i.e. converting a given code into UML diagrams such as class diagrams, in a similar way to when it is done from a problem description/specification.

Preparation and Review
Revision for the examination and assessment is only part of acquiring the necessary knowledge that equips students for their professional life. Thus, studying and preparation should start in parallel to classroom sessions. This reinforces that has been learnt in the classroom , as well as providing an opportunity to revisit the materials that might not have been well understood. Moreover, such an approach will make it easier when review for the examinations period starts. Last-minute preparation for the exams should be avoided , since it is extremely stressful and is unlikely to lead to the achievement of good marks. Most importantly "cramming" does not allow enough time to absorb the required topics, which lead to little or no knowledge acquirement. Thus, it makes a lot sense to start the learning process , including exam review and preparation, early in the course and in good time. This requires good planning and time management as well as self discipline;the reward , however , will be a reduction in stress, in depth knowledge and exam success.

Im summary , review should be well-planned so the available time can be managed effectively. This will give the students the possibility and the opportunity to cover the whole syllabus , not only part of it, which is very important for both the examination as well as general knowledge acquirement and accumulation. However, review can be focused by revising past examination papers as well as practicing the answers to the questions. The study of past questions enables students to stop and reflect , and to consult the provided answers, lecture notes and textbooks for further help and explanation of any concepts /topics that might be hard to follow.

Examination
Students should start the examination by reading the instructions at the front of the exam paper, which clearly specify the length of examination, the total number of questions and the number of questions that students are expected to answer. Then exam questions need to be read as fully as possible.

Broadly , the questions cover three main parts of the module, the theoretical part,the analysis and design part, and the practical part. In the theoretical part the types of questions that are likely to be found are as follows:
> Define and explain an important term-e.g. "Explain what is meant by encapsulation and identify its benefits". This question requires precise definition of the concept together with the description of its benefits.

> Compare methodologies-e.g. "Procedural and object-oriented methodologies are commonly used in modern application development. Explain the differences and similarities between the two methodologies". This requires a description of both approaches , and then a comparison should be made.

> Describe and compare relationships with examples-e.g. "Object -oriented modeling can make use of two special relationships between two classes known as inheritance and aggregation. Describe what is meant by each of these terms , contrasting the different circumstances in which each would be applicable. Illustrate your answer using classes of your choice". This requires a description of both relationships, and then using examples, a comparison should be made.

> Identify the benefits of an approach-e.g. "Describe the merits of the rapid prototyping process, and identify who, in your opinion , should be involved in the process". This requires a description of the merits and the identification of the stakeholders.

In the Analysis and design part of the type of questions that are likely to be found are as follows"

> Analysis-e.g. "Explain what methodology you will be using to carry out an intial object-oriented analysis for a specification". This requires the explanation of a particular methodology to carry out the analysis stage.

> Analysis-e.g. 'Write down all the classes you think will be required, together with their attributes, behaviours, and any relationships between them for a specification". This requires reading the specification and the identification of all classes.

> Design-e.g. "Use case diagrams can be used for requirements capture. Briefly describe how this can be done and draw a use case diagram for specification". This require a brief description of the process and the drawing of a use case diagram based on specification.

> Design- e.g. "Draw a class diagram for a particular specification". This requires a drawing of a class diagram based on a given specification.

In the Practical part the types of questions that are likely to be found are as follows:
> Application-e.g. Apply the theory/concepts to a case study or a specification". This require reading the specification and the application of particular concepts.

> The practical meaning of concepts- e.g. " Assuming you are about to implement code that makes use of association, show, using a programming language , what actually means in practice. Demonstrate how it can be implemented using classes of your choice", This requires a code that contains at least two classes , with one class containing object or a reference of an object of a different class.

> Coding-e.g. "Write simple code for a specification" or "translate from design to code" or translate from code to design". This requires simple code writing from specification or from given design. The latter part requires some reverse engineering, e.g. produce a design from a given code.

> Coding-e.g. "Explain the various statements in a given code and the brief explanation of the statements.

Students should pay attention to the marks allocated to each question, hich reflect the answers and the amount of work that is needed to achieve a particular mark. This can be very important since , in many cases , students are only able to correctly answer parts of the questions, which should be the ones that maximize their marks. Moreover, it is important to note that answers should be specific and precise and they should reflect the content of the questions. Finally, handwritten text should be clear and easy to read and diagrams/code should be comprehensible and well illustrated

Though, the method was being experimented in one of the colleges in KSA,it was not successful since it takes a longer period of time for students to think and answer the questions resulting to a complaint of having a long examinations.

Moving To A Truly Lean Culture by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

Rectruitment, Selection and Training and development are too important to be treated as separate activities hived off to a human resources department.

Jolito Ortizo Padilla describes how to fully embrace a lean culture within a company.

Are you a lean organization or just an organization doing lean? This is an important question and there is a difference. Most companies are just "doing lean"-kaizen systems are up and running in some areas, the 5S methodology has made the place look tidier, work is being done on quick set-ups at a few crucial points, there are some current state value stream maps in place and, maybe some future state maps too. This is all fine-everyone has to start somewhere and you will certainly realize some improvements.

But it is not enough . Doing lean "stuff" here and there will not get your flow time down to a few days or hours . It will not reduce stock to 15 days or less and it will not improve the productivity of your value streams by hundreds of percent or enable you to beat the competition on customer delivery.

To make such step-changes in performance an organization needs to do more than just use lean tools. It has become a truly lean organization and that means changing the culture to a fully lean philosophy. Moving to unknown territory is always a scary prospect, but the good news is that the first step to moving a truly lean culture is simple; the senior management team just has to understand and fully embrace two fundamental truths about lean. First , that lean is a growth strategy , not a set of tools and not a cost- reduction strategy, and second that profitability in a lean organization is related to the rate of flow through the value streams.

Lean is a Growth Strategy
Waste is removed and processes are improved through people working together using structured problem solving techniques. Together they will improved flow, reduce scrap and rework , speed up set-ups and changeovers, reduce batch sizes and increase productivity. All this means that the capacity of value streams will be greatly increased. In short, you will be able to get more out of your value streams-or,to put it another way, meet current levels of demand with fewer people.

But you cannot reduce the number of people you employ. The quickest way to kill lean is to sack the very people who have worked to make improvements. This means that your overall costs will remain largely unchanged. You can reduce overtime, minimize the use of temporary staff and save money on scrap costs, but these are relatively minor short term cost improvements. Big savings remain out of reach : you can't reduce the number of employees and you can't reduce overheads.

The only way you can really profit from the greatly increased capacity that lean delivers is to grow the organization.You can do a great deal more profitable work with the same people and the same overheads and the only way to realize this benefit is to grow sales, develop new products and reach new customers and markets. This takes time , but lean is a growth strategy , not a cost -reduction strategy. Work needs to start straight away to develop plans that will profitably fill the additional capacity that lean activities generate.

The Rate of Flow
Let us assume that before lean improvements you can meet a customer order within four weeks and you produce 4,000 items in that four weeks. Through lean improvement you reduce your flow time so that you can now produce the same 4,000 items in two weeks. That gives you two weeks of free capacity that you can now profitably sells. Apart from any additional material cost, this extra capacity is virtually pure profit. Lean , as we saw above , is a growth strategy and we can double the profitability of the value stream by doubling the rate of flow. In fact, the profitability is more than doubled as overheads remain largely unchanged.

Developing a Lean Culture
Once a senior management has accepted the fundamental truths of the lean approach , the culture can begin to change . everything that the organization does must focus on these truths and this in turn creates a need to change the organization in two aspects:
- System structure and policies
- Organizational behaviours
First, if we look at internal systems, structures and policies , most traditional organizations have developed many are the antithesis of lean and generate non-lean behaviours. Examples include:
- Management bonuses based on output rather than flow to customer demand.
- Promotion based on individual performance rather tha team performance
- Individual incentives rather than team incemtives
- "Buy more, pay less" sales policies rather than policies designed to
encourage regular steady purchasing
- Different prices for different customers rather than fair , clear pricing
policies
- Accounting reports that emphasizes production efficiencies rather than
measuring and improving the flow of the whole value stream
- A preponderance of departmental projects and initiatives rather than a focus
on improving the value stream
- A focus on shareholder returns at the expense of customer value.
To create a truly lean organization , organization systems, structures and policies must be reviewed to ensure they support the lean philosophy. They must support the five principles of lean:
- Focus on value for the customers
- Organize by value stream
- Value is created by clear unimpeded flow through the value stream to the
pull of the customer
- Empowered people add value and improve flow
- Pursue perfection to continuously improve customer value and flow.
Unless the organization's systems, structures and policies support lean throughout the business, then the lean effort will ultimately wither.

In terms of organizational behaviours , the explicit behaviours of management must fully support lean and encourage problem solving and improvement. A number of lean tools contribute to the effort to change organizational behaviours to support the lean philiosophy.

Lean Performance Measures
As mentioned earlier , traditional measures of performance -such as machine or labor efficiency , or variances on standard cost-do not support the lean philosophy. Instead we need measures of the performance of the whole value stream. We measure quality , flow time ,customer satisfaction , stock and on-time delivery for the complete value stream from order entry to delivery in order to allow us to work together to measure , manage and improve the whole process.

Visual Management
Hiding lean performance measures inside the system motivates nothing and involves very few people. A key principle of lean is the visual presentation, review and improvement of data in the orkplace. Cell measures are displayed on cell board and reviewed at daily cell meetings and are the focus of cell improvement. Value stream measures re discussed at weekly meetings and are the hub for value stream improvementprojects and kaizen events. Strategic measures for all value streams in the organization , are the focus of senior management review and strategic planning.

Creating the People Value Stream
Recruitment, selection and training and development are too important to be treated as separate activities hived off to a human resources department. They are activities that serve all the organization's value stream. It maybe argued that the people value stream is as important as any revenue operating value stream.

The role of the people value stream is to attract people with the right characteristics who will contribute , to develop people so they have the capability to do quality work everyday, to engage people so that they willingly set about improving their work through rigorous problem solving and to inspire people so that they are committed to the organization and will continue to learn, grow and do their best. As much effort should be put into defining and optimizing this as any other value stream.

Management Standard Work
Leaders change culture by making it safe to reveal problems and by demonstrating their commitment to lean improvement. Management standard works provides a vital tool for cascading this visible commitment to all managers, supervisors and team leaders.

The culture of mutual trust to support creativity , problem solving and teamwork ensures your lean effort is sustained must be created and supported by all managers Leaders must lead by example, regularly and consistently, which is the purpose of leader standard work. Management standard work includes daily, weekly and monthly checklists for managers at all levels, including daily cell meetings and plant walks, weekly value stream meetings and improvement activity, and monthly planning and review of strategy development.

maangers at all levels must visit the value streams regularly and visibly support the lean journey through involvement in improvement activity and encouragement of team working and problem solving.

Continuous Improvement
The pursuit of perfection is one of the core lean principles and successful continuous improvement relies on every employee being willing to call attention to problems. Rather than allocate blame , managers must focus on improving process. Leaders create a culture for continuous improvement by their actions and through communication, training and development:
- Team members must thorougly understand the standard
- Team members must be alert for deviations
- Team members must be motivated to signal problems, without fear of reprisal,
confident they will listened to and supported.
- Team members must audit the application of standard work
- Team members must be close enough to respond to a problem immediately
- Team leaders must be trained to support the application of rigorous problem
solving techniques with team members.
- Team and individuals should be rate not on how well they solve a problem
but on how well they apply the problem solving process.

Planning
The organization's commitment to lean must be reflected in its planning processess. The annual budgeting circus must be replaced with approaches that focus on the five lean principles.

Leaders must engage people at all levels in the organization in order to focus their energy on applying lean principles to everything they do. Lean planning methods, including strategy deployment , provide a structure to do this and should be implemented as a matter of priority from senior management level.

As you begin your lean journey you should try some kaizen events,map your value streams, work on quick changeovers and spread 5S across the entire organization. These are all good training exercises for people at all levels.

As lean takes hold , management commitment become vital . Once senior management understands the lean truths, it must develop the organization's systems , structures and policies to support lean and must use lean tools to develop organizational behaviours. Applied visibly, consistently abd fairly , these approaches will build a management team that displays the behaviours of truly lean managers.
And how will you kno you have created a truly lean culture? Of course it is an ongoing process, requiring constant feedback and reinforcement , but good indicator would be when you can pick any employee and get an honest and positive response. "Do you feel safe to reveal problems?"

A Visit to Japan's Environment.. Pictures Taken Through My Nikon Camera.

Inside my NTU Classroom during the Final MBA Research Presentation ...

Promoting Biodiversity...Throughout the World

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